Resident Evil: Please Press Delete
by Pinni
Summary: Sigh. Exams sucka. I'm hopefully gonna write a new chapter over the holidays, but dont get too mad if I dont.
1. Day 1

Hello. My name is Jill Valentine. I have just been recruited to the head STARS team, to check out some old places for anything that shouldn't be there. I don't really know what to expect, I was only on forensic until two weeks ago, examining cell mutations. Great, huh. My partner, Chris Redfield, was promoted about a month ago and has mysteriously disappeared. My suspicions were cast aside as I donned my uniform and packed my bags.  
  
"Hello, Valentine. Please board the bus in an.orderly manner." a greasy voice floated behind Jill as she tried to sling her suitcase onto the train. She whipped her head around, her light brown hair whipping over her glaring eyes. Her Daemon, a black dog, stood at her feet.  
  
"Yes, sir." She loaded the case and jumped on board, sitting in a vacant seat. Looking out the window, a flash of blue caught her eyes and she craned in her seat to see what it was. Missing it, she sighed and turned around. She focused her eyes and gave a scream.  
  
"WHAT THE HECK?!" she yelled, backing away from the seat. Her daemon growled and sprang away in confusion .A severed body was swaying gently on the carriage seat opposite her, and she ran. An arm grabbed her around the neck and she fought away, screaming. Kicking the body in the stomach it backed away, moaning. Jill opened her eyes to see a very unconscious looking Fox mc Cloud lying on the floor, grabbing his...erm...lower regions. *oops, maybe that was a bit beyond the stomach* she thought, and she brushed her hair from her eyes and apologized over and over. Saratham, now in hyena form, giggled quietly.  
  
"God, so much for the zombie trick, eh. Usually they run screaming." He grimaced and stood up, stuffing the very realistic looking zombie thing in his bag. He left the carriage laughing. She turned to sit back down, when  
  
"OW!" Jill fell painfully on all fours and looked behind her to see two yoshis and a kirby scuttling away, the green yoshi holding something above the pink ones head.  
  
"I thought I was on a trip for STARS." Jill mused, standing up and sitting on the chair. *Well, I'm not budging now.*  
  
"Uhhhmm.thanks, Room 16?" Jill looked around at the huge hall.  
  
"That's right, baybe." Link grinned in a perverted way and pointed upstairs.  
  
"Great." She grabbed her suitcase and walked purposefully up the long, winding stair case. Her booted feet echoed eerily as she reached the room and turned the huge key into the lock. The door creaked open and she poked her head around it, to check if it was safe or not. Deciding it was harmless she walked in and threw her case onto the large, squashy bed.  
  
A small worm popped out through the floorboards and Jill drew her legs up, watching the transparent blind creature wriggle into another hole. An oil painting hanging on the wall showed an old lady and her two dogs sitting grandly on an armchair, and the soft lights of the flickering candelabra illuminated her lifelike face. *Spooky,* thought Jill, undoing her suitcase, *that lady looks a lot like-*  
  
"OH MY GOD! JILL?!" a girlish yell resounded throughout the room and Jill looked up in shock. She sighed when she realized who it was.  
  
"Hullo, Rebecca." She waved at her 'friend' and smiled sheepishly.  
  
"Like, I was sooo surprised when I realized we were in the same room! I would have thought that all you lower members would be in the cheaper rooms!"  
  
"I've been promoted, Rebecca." Jill said, through gritted teeth.  
  
She opened up her suitcase and took out her flannel pyjamas, feeling her Daemon curl up over her shoulders in a ermine form, and she felt his little heartbeat slowing down once they were in the bathroom. As Jill ran the bath, she sighed and sat on the edge, holding out a finger for the brown moth to rest on.  
  
"Just when I thought things would get better, she's here.."  
  
"Well, she IS in your department now" said Saratham, wisely. He fluttered his wings and the two antennae on his small head flicked.  
  
"What was that?" Jill stood up, raising her head. Saratham fluttered onto the curtain pole and cocked his wings a little.  
  
A creak and a scuttling noise came from the drain hole and she frowned. Reaching into the nearly full bath, she undid the rusty plughole. A gurgling noise came, and the water rushed out. Sighing, Jill plugged it up again and undressed, slipping into the bath. Saratham turned away, in his dog form again, and lay on the bathmat. Jill flicked her finger on the waters skin and watched it ripple. She did this numerous times and watched, noticing the curious way they kept on even after she had created the first effect. She stopped, and in the place where her knees were out of the water, noticed the water vibrating.  
  
She paused again, and then wrapped a towel around her body, shivering slightly as she padded across the marble floor. Saratham sat up and formed into a quiet mouse, twitching his muzzle.  
  
Jill knelt on the floor and put her ear onto the cold surface.  
  
"Can you hear that?" she whispered, motioning for him to come over. He formed into a bat and flew next to her, then lay on the ground, making small chirrupy noises.  
  
".Moaning? And screams?" he hissed back, a frown on his bat like face. Jill stood and got back in the bath, dropping the towel on Saratham's head. He changed to a mole and clawed his way out.  
  
"What could it be?" she pondered, picking up a sponge and rubbing her shoulders. The steam swirled in the cold air and she watched it, as if searching for an answer.  
  
"Think about it, Jill. There ARE male STARS investigators here too, you know" he said, drily.  
  
"No.It didn't sound like that," she said, angrily. "More painful..."  
  
"And how would you know that?" asked Saratham, sarcastically.  
  
"Oh, be quiet and close your eyes, I'm coming out."  
  
As Jill settled into the strangely comfortable bed, she opened up her small diary and lit the small oil lamp, illuminating her corner of the room as she drew up her knees, feeling Saratham underneath her flannel pajama top in his favorite gray ermine shape. She flipped trough the pages and opened her pen lid, starting to write.  
  
I've spent the whole day here, and too be honest I can't say I'm enjoying it too much. I keep hearing strange thudding and moaning noises outside, and the pictures on the walls are starting to creep me out. I caught up with Sirius Black, an old friend of mine, and we have decided to have a good look around tomorrow. Then maybe we'll see what's going on. I've packed my neutrino blaster, just in case. 


	2. Day 2

12/8/01, Entrance hall.  
  
Jill put her handgun on her palm and smacked the bottom, shaking it to check if the magazine had loaded properly. Deftly, she flicked her second weapon open and set the blaster to three. She wasn't taking any chances in the mansion. Over breakfast with the other STARS recruits, she had heard some suspicious, some joking people discussing the woodland areas around the desolate mansion, and how there were zombie dogs and mutated families in the dank graveyard outside. Her booted feet echoed off the walls and she looked at the large grandfather clock, its loud ticking mingling with the rumbling thunder and the great staircase was illuminated by the lightning. Even in the daytime the mansion was dark, and the candles were still lit. Rebecca and 7 other STARS members had gone in the pickup truck to explore the surrounding areas. Sirius, her and two others, including Iorek Byrinson, the huge bear warrior here to protect the 10 examiners. Sirius appeared a few moments later, running over to her with two large packages in his hand.  
  
"Honey dukes Chocolatl!" he exclaimed, grinning. Jill laughed and jammed the bar inside her gun holster, then strapped the handgun to its clip. Sirius tugged at his trousers slightly and clipped his gun in place, checking if there were enough bullets left. Then he brushed his black hair from his eyes and looked at Jill, who was feeling a little nervous. brHe nodded and put his hand on the door knob that lead to the dining room that the owner had been so careful to avoid at last nights supper. Saratham's deep ermine claws dug into Jill's shoulders with fright and nervous excitement as she followed, and Sirius opened the door.  
  
Hardly a word had been said between the two members of STARS when they reached the large double doors that lead to a corridor with many rooms. So far, they had only been upstairs and so were keen to explore. Jill kicked the two doors open and hid around the corner, then pointed her gun out before she swung to the left into the dank hallway. She noticed more clear eggs and a few larvae roosting in the corners and on the walls, and frowned.  
  
"Sirius," she yelled, beckoning for him to come over, "What is this stuff?" she knelt to examine it and Sirius followed, his pale brow creased in wonder. Sirius tore back a floorboard, quickly releasing the rotted wood as it splintered and fell to the battered carpet with a dull thud. Suddenly, a mass of clear, jelly like substance poured out and they both jumped back. Then, to their horror, a huge, black, sliming slug wriggled out of its blind home. Jill cried and stood up, and Sirius hurriedly took out a phial and scooped it in. It rattled the glass prison and squelched, emitting a dark red liquid.  
  
"It's like.blood!" exclaimed Jill, being careful to tread on the larvae as they carried on.  
  
"Well, whatever it is, we'll have to examine it tonight." Sirius muttered, standing up again. "Let's carry on."  
  
Jill nodded and Saratham formed into a mouse and crawled into her uniform pocket.  
  
"I really don't think this is good.we should go back now, Jill" Saratham whispered, his whiskers twitching nervously.  
  
"Don't be stupid. It's probably empty." She retorted, and then she turned to Sirius. He nodded again, and they held their guns out. The corridor split into two ways, and so they both decided to take one.  
  
"Any zombies at all and we report back here, ok?" Mumbled Jill, and she stole a quick glance at Sirius' chest, noticing the small lump of his chameleon daemon quivering slightly. Jill pulled out her Neutrino Blaster and walked slowly down the dark corridor. Her boots thudded on the worn carpet and she heard a strange noise- like moaning and this time, crunching. Her heart skipped a beat and she upped the setting to four. Saratham was shaking now, uttering little noises of fright. Jill closed her eyes, and then ran around the corner. Her eyes widened in horror as she stared at the bone white, deteriorated face. It seemed to be crunching down on some kind of quivering carcass, and Jill clutched her stomach, horrified and enchanted at the same time. It turned its rotting neck and stared at her. Jill shook with fright and walked backwards as it stumbled to its feet and walked near her. She looked a little closer at its battered clothes and noticed a Nintendo logo hanging off. She shot its head and it fell back, then got up again. Jill moaned. These were hardly the friendly zombies she saw in Scooby Doo cartoons, she thought. Shooting it again, she recognized the face.  
  
"Mr.Mr. Yamauchi?"*  
  
Sirius frowned. His chameleon daemon quivered again, and crawled onto his shoulder, changing into a black dragonfly. He was looking at the ground again, seeing black lumps crawling around his feet.  
  
"Is it just me or are they getting closer?" Sirius said, and Blancha fluttered her wings again.  
  
"Oh, Sirius.this isn't safe at all!"  
  
"Sure it is, we just tread on them." He stamped on a mound and they quickly died, but then the daemon uttered a cry of fright and he looked around. There was a black shape looming in the darkness, moaning, shuffling closer. Sirius unhitched his handgun and smacked it, then pointed it at the figure. Hearing the bullets, the zombie turned its rotting head and looked at him. *there's something familiar about that face* he thought, frowning. *oh well, familiar, unfamiliar, they all look the same with the skin removed from their skulls*. Sirius pumped lead into the zombie, not noticing the black leech that was crawling up his trouser leg, slowly clamping into his flesh.  
  
Jill ran from the zombie as fast as she could, panicking, since after 10 head shots clearly wouldn't work on the zombie. She slammed into a figure when she had entered the dining room and she screamed in fright. Then she realized it was Sirius and calmed down, slowly regaining her breath. Sirius was grimacing, though, and was holding up a dead slug.  
  
"It's a leech, Jill." he muttered, going pale. He showed her two small pricks on his leg and she gasped, kneeling to put ointment on the puffy wounds. As she tenderly applied the bloodmoss, he grimaced.  
  
"I saw a zombie, Sirius" she said, breaking the silence. He frowned.  
  
"Me too. I think we should tell someone."  
  
"Is that safe? I nearly got eaten." Jill stood up again, wiping her hands on her pants.  
  
"They need to examine the area, sweep it, you know the deal." Sirius winced and looked at the huge ticking clock on the wall above the door. "6:30. They should be back by now." He stood and walked to the magnificent mahogany double doors and opened then.  
  
"Hey, you need this fellow?" asked Jill, holding up the container that had a fat leech squirming inside. Sirius nodded.  
  
"It could be poisonous, I'm not taking any chances." he said, and Jill followed him to where the 8 STARS officers were standing, out of breath and covered in mud.  
  
"Jill.there were ZOMBIE DOGS!" Rebecca stumbled over to her, gasping. The perspiration from the dank forest trickled and shone on her pale skin. Hey black hair was caked in mud and her uniform was spotted with blood. Jill looked behind her hyperventilating colleague and noticed that out of the seven that had left, only 5 had come back.  
  
Sirius walked up the stairs with an injured STARS minor, who had simply gone in the van to examine specimens. His white coat was now a rusty red, spotted with mud, and he had bruises on his arms.  
  
"Ugh. Why did I even bother going?" Asked the man, rubbing his bushy head.  
  
"What did you find?" Sirius asked, sitting the man on his bed and snapping of a large piece of Honey Dukes Best Chocolatl. The man took it gratefully and frowned.  
  
"The same thing, over and over.larvae, leeches, and we managed to collect some skin from the dogs that were around the van." He looked up at Sirius, his eyebrows bunching. "Your boss says you were bitten by a leech? Where was it?" "On my leg. I took it off with salt and Jill put bloodmoss on it, but I don't know what the antidote is and its starting to swell up." Sirius sat on a chair and noticed the pile of papers in neat, small handwriting scattered next to a mug of black coffee. "Can I look?"  
  
"Yeah..sure.." the man lay on his bed and groaned. Sirius stood up and rummaged in his uniform and produced a phial of sleeping drought mixed with no-pain potion and handed it to the man, who took it gratefully. Sirius turned on his heel and entered the hallway, his now ferret daemon winding her way around his arm.  
  
Jill settled uneasily into her bed and drew up the covers, looking at Rebecca, whom she had put the mesmer on to let her sleep better. Not many people knew she had fairy blood in her. Saratham nestled into her chest, his favorite ermine form snuggled against her skin. She opened the small red book and began to write.  
  
I'm worried. Sirius has been bitten by a leech and he seems to be drowsy. Two people are now officially missing, and there are zombies prowling around as I write this, and Rebecca is out like a log. I can tell Saratham is scared (at which point the little soul creature gave a whimper) and so am I. Tomorrow, I need to attend a meeting to see what we should do. My handgun is strapped to my waist and though it is uncomfortable it is comforting to know that I will have at least some protection. 


	3. Day 3

"How pleasant of you to invite me here." A strong voice echoed from the main hall, and Rebecca, Jill and Sanders looked up from their hands from which they had been staring for the past 5 minutes. Sirius narrowed his eyes, and Blancha turned into an owl, craning her head to listen to whatever was going on. Jill and Rebecca looked at each other, both knowing who was outside with General Cooper.  
  
"Artemis Fowl." murmured Sirius, clenching his fists. "What on earth is that no gooder doing here?" Blancha was a cat, purring somewhat aggressively.  
  
"Calm down, Sirius," said Sanders, his bushy beard quivering slightly, "He's probably here because he wants to know about the zombies."  
  
"And what good will that do us?" Jill interrupted. She was silenced by Rebecca as the double doors swung open and a boy of 19 walked in, his tailored suit hardly creasing as he walked over to the table and sat, checking his manicured nails. His Daemon, a fine bird of which Jill couldn't recognize, sat on his shoulder, grooming herself imperiously.  
  
"General Cooper tells me there have been." he paused, the smallest of smiles playing on his pale face, "zombies roaming this mansion." He looked around the table, to see the 8 STARS members transfixed by his calm way of staring.  
  
Jill stared defiantly at the man who had before kidnapped her grandmother, Holly Short. Artemis' eyes flickered on her for a second, the blue eyes cold and hard, then swept past to crack his knuckles.  
  
"Now, I have been informed that a bear named Iorek Byrinson is currently protecting the mansion?" the STARS recruits nodded mutely. "Pardon me for saying, but I feel that-"  
  
"Iorek Byrinson is one of the bravest creatures I know, Fowl. I don't know why you are here or what you are intending to do, but Iorek is perfectly capable to look after us." Jill spat, standing up. *those green eyes.they look so much like Holly.* Artemis thought, then shook it out of his head and replied, with a hint of annoyance in his voice,  
  
"I know that, Valentine. I have absolutely no intention of taking over him; I simply came here because I thought you may want my help in the weapons and security department." Artemis steepled his fingers, still looking at Jill, who had sat down, annoyance burning in her eyes. General Cooper coughed slightly.  
  
"Fowl, I apologize for this incorrect behavior. Jill, you will assist Artemis in the rigging and setting up of the CCTV cameras. No doubt a certain Mulch Diggums will assist in tunneling below the mansion."  
  
"Butler is already on it, Sir. Thank you for the assistant, I'm sure she will prove very useful." Sirius' daemon suddenly growled and snapped at Daikah, Artemis' mocking bird soul. Daikah was taken by surprise and Artemis held a finger out for her to perch on.  
  
"Sirius." Artemis looked at the older man, a taunting grin on his face. "I must insist that you keep your feelings under control. Do you have something you wish to tell us?" Sirius balled up his hands, shaking slightly. How he hated this man! Jill gave him a questioning glance and he shook his head slightly. General Cooper looked both embarrassed and ashamed of his employees. Bustling to sit down, he cleared his throat and said,  
  
"Now, I know that Ms Valentine and Mr. Black have been searching in the corridor beyond this door," He said, frowning. Jill wondered vaguely if the would be punished. "Iorek Byrinson was keeping a close watch, and has said that there were two zombies seen. Do you recognize the two?"  
  
"Sir, I recognized one as Mr. Yamauchi." The stunned silence confirmed the fact. Mr. Yamauchi was the ex-president of Nintendo Japan, and had been missing ever since he came to clear the area for the spoof off game, Resident Evil Zero. Rebecca sighed. How embarrassing! Her character wasn't even wearing the right clothes. Jill nudged her as she began to giggle, thinking about Billy.  
  
"Two people; one male, one female, were savagely attacked and dragged into the forest by the pack of dogs. We pray for their families, and hope that they are still alive, though the chances are slim." The 10 people surrounding the table bowed their heads slightly.  
  
"Well, if that clears it up." drawled Artemis, straightening his caftan, "then I will start building straightaway." Jill looked up in annoyance at the pale boy. "Jill?" she nodded and followed him, giving a pained look at Sirius as she did so. ******* The sunshine beamed in from the stained glass window, though it was still strangely dark outside. Sirius pulled out his handgun and jacked in the new magazine, this time combining the bullets. He then walked over to Sanders' door, and knocked. Blancha, as a wildcat, stalked after him.  
  
"I cant believe Jill agreed, Sirius." She said, annoyed.  
  
"She didn't.it was that creep Fowl that made her come," he knocked three times on the door, "I wish she could've said no."  
  
The door opened and Sanders appeared, his hound of a daemon sniffing suspiciously at Blancha. She hissed at him (Sanders daemon was the rare kind that was the same sex as its human) and he accepted the fact that she was stronger. Sirius paused to look at the bearded man whom he had helped the night before, then nodded.  
  
"Was there anything of use in my studies?" he asked, as they climbed down the huge oak staircase. Sirius nodded and said,  
  
"The leeches can be cured if we find some bitter herbs. Then we have to mix that with the larvae of the unhatched leeches and apply it on the wound-"  
  
"And leave it for two minutes, then wash off with water." Sanders finished. Sirius nodded and frowned.  
  
"Where are we going to find that? I still have some herbs left over, but-" Sirius almost tripped over Sanders who was knelt on the floor and knocking on various skirting boards. Blancha spat and stopped, and Sirius looked in curiosity as he tore back a piece of rotting wood and a small pile of larvae poured out. Sirius fumbled in his pocket for a jar and collected two, then watched as Nairus rolled on the larvae and scratched at the wooden floor.  
  
"Doesn't he get infected?" asked Sirius, frowning as Sanders replaced the wood board.  
  
"No- You see this pendant?" he pointed at Nairus, who sat on the floor and lifted his head so that a small crystal was shown, "it keeps him from being harmed. It protects me, too, since I am him and he is me." Sirius nodded as if in understanding and rattled the two clear alien like pods.  
  
"Shall we?"  
  
Artemis clipped the last EC in place and switched on the tower, his fingers clicking and typing fast. Jill sighed. *Its as I'm not even here* she thought, watching the younger boy's face light up as he gained access to the site he was looking for.  
  
"Where do I come in on all this, Fowl?" asked Jill, crossing her arms.  
  
"Ah, yes. Phone Butler," he gestured lazily to the smallest mobile phone she had seen on the table, "and ask him to bring Mr. Diggums straight here." Jill nodded, annoyed. She walked over and flipped it open, squinting in the dim glow of the three computer screens to see the number. Then she held it up to her slightly pointed ear and waited. Three rings, and:  
  
"Hello, Artemis?"  
  
"No, this is Jill Valentine."  
  
"Ah, yes. Artemis told me about you. Miss hot-shot zombie investigator, hmm?"  
  
"Listen, Mr. Butler, all I want is for you to get Mulch Diggums over here, now."  
  
"What if I don't?"  
  
Jill frowned. Then she concentrated more, feigning a cough. "Just do it, Butler." Jill's voice was dripping with the mesmer, and Artemis looked around in surprise.  
  
*so she is related to Holly*, he thought, stroking his chin. If he had a beard he would be probably twirling it right now. Jill turned and caught his eye, and he turned around quickly and busied himself with typing.  
  
Butler nodded blankly and hung up. Jill Valentine? She sounded like Trouble. And indeed, that was her father. ***** Sirius carefully mashed the larvae into a pulp and poured it into the chipped bowl, along with three leaves of herb. Sanders handed him a pestle and he ground it together, until it was a thin paste. Then he put some on his finger and tested the consistency between his forefinger and thumb.  
  
"Shall we go and find water?" asked Blancha, uncurling from her snow leopard state. Sirius nodded and watched her disappear with Naika. Since they only had a little bit to go, as the bathroom was just across the hall, it didn't hurt Sirius too much. Sanders looked at him sympathetically.  
  
"Your daemon hasn't settled on a form yet?" he murmured gently. Sirius shook his head. He knew that until Blancha did settle on a form they would not be able to part for long distances. Even now it wrenched at his heart when the snow leopard crossed the large landing.  
  
A few minutes later, Blancha and Nairus appeared, holding a container of water. Nairus dropped it on the floor near his humans feet and said,  
  
"Blancha and I are concerned. There seems to be a strange scuttling noise coming from the bath tub, and we can't identify it." Sirius held out his arms for the little lion cub who felt so timid and afraid, and felt Blancha's little claws sink into his shirt. Sanders watched them for a minute, and then placed a hand on Nairus' head. The daemon gave an affectionate growl then Sanders said gently,  
  
"Sirius, we must apply it now." Sirius looked up and nodded. *****  
  
Over dinner that night, many things were discussed. Now that there were more people at the large, long table, things were slightly more relaxed, because of the absences of awkward silences. Mulch Diggums, the dwarf convict, sat next to Iorek and Butler, sucking down carrots as if there was no tomorrow. Artemis was deep in conversation with General Cooper, and Rebecca, Jill, Sirius and Sanders were talking about what they should try and find tomorrow. Genevra was quiet and still, as always. She ate her dinner politely and kept out of the way most of the time, and Jill watched her out of the corner of her eye. Her daemon, a rabbit, lay in the corner, away from the other daemons who were talking amongst themselves.  
  
"Genevra?" Jill asked, turning from the three others.  
  
"Y-yes, Jill?" she looked shocked and smiled.  
  
"Are you ok? You seem a little quiet tonight."  
  
"Oh.I'm fine, don't you worry about me, Jill."  
  
"Listen, after dinner, we'll talk, ok? I can tell something's wrong." Jill smiled kindly and Genevra nodded, smiling.  
  
"Thank you, Jill."  
  
Artemis sipped on his class of cheap claret. Swirling it in the glass as best as he could, he nodded and talked to General Cooper. He was watching Draco out of the corner of his eye, noticing how the youngest member of STARS was using the silverware and glasses correctly. Artemis snapped back to attention when General Cooper used the word 'foaly'.  
  
"Foaly?" Artemis said, bewildered. He bit his tongue. If he said that he had connections with the masterminded centaur, he could be disconnected from this mission.  
  
"Yes, Foaly. He's been in touch with me ever since Wormtail escaped and joined Sauruman in Middle Earth." the old man sighed and looked extremely old, his wrinkles almost dissolving his silvery eyebrows.  
  
"Middle earth?" Artemis laced his long fingers, setting down the knife and fork. "What would that be?" he pretended to be ignorant of this world, to test the General's knowledge.  
  
"I believe you know, Master Fowl." The General laughed heartily and set down the wine glass. "This claret is a tad stale, do you not think, my son." Artemis' eyes flashed with regret at the word son. His own father had come home 6 years ago, only to have become ill three years later. Before guilt could get the better of him, he coughed and nodded.  
  
"Indeed." Artemis faked the tiniest of smiles.  
  
"Diggums. Unhand my broccoli or get your neck broken." Said Butler, a pink tinge on his chiseled face. Mulch Diggums stopped what he was doing and dropped the broccoli back onto the bodyguard's plate. Iorek, though he showed no emotion, gave out a small rumble that could have been laughter.  
  
"Here.have my carrot, midget."  
  
"I am NOT a midget!" huffed Mulch, though he ate the carrot anyway.  
  
"Yeah well. Don't disagree, both of us can break your neck in an instant." Butler gripped the wine glass' stem unnaturally hard. Mulch gulped. *it's like eating with death* he thought.  
  
Rebecca was, once again, sleeping under the mesmer. Saratham seemed to be in a bit of a bad mood with her tonight so when he curled up under her blanket, he didn't quite get so close to her. Leaning over, Jill picked up her diary.  
  
Artemis Fowl has entered the building. That snotty little brat had better not interfere with anything that goes on around here. Protection my pointy ears! The damned hacker just wants to steal the limelight from the true heroes, I'm sure. I spoke with Genevra after dinner and she got so worked up about everything she was about to cry. Poor girl, she's one of the most skilled and clever people here and yet her husband, Aragorn, was killed yesterday. I'm slowly beginning to doubt my safety in this room, and the bathroom is making strange noises. I don't know if it's an insect in there, or even more leeches, but it seems to be happening in everyone's rooms. I have to take more precautions. Once again, my handgun is in bed with me. 


	4. Day 4

Rebecca stood tentatively outside the door, waiting for General Cooper to let her enter. She held in her thin hands a Neutrino Blaster and an outlawed Softnose Laser, which Billy had given her to look after. She bit her lip, remembering his yells of pain as the dogs had dragged him away. His Daemon had vanished straightaway, and she knew he was dead. General Cooper opened the door and motioned for her to come in. She stepped inside the room and sat.  
  
"Rebecca Baggins. How can I help you?" The general sat comfortably in his chair, searching her swiftly. His blue eyes sparkled over the half moon glasses and she felt at ease.  
  
"Sir. Can I sweep the area? I have two weapons and three people have agreed to come."  
  
"Very well, if you must. But we don't want any more being lost. Iorek Byrinson is to come and protect you." He frowned. "You and whom, might I ask?"  
  
"Draco, Sam, and Genevra sir."  
  
"Hmm. Yes, ok, do as you may." He stood up and suddenly looked frail and old. Rebecca looked up and noticed him staring at the old Softnose.  
  
"I thought those were outlawed, Ms Baggins?" he said, a twinkle in his kind eyes. His daemon, a fiery red phoenix, rested sleepily on his old shoulder. He stroked the birds plumed head and smiled. "Fawkes approves, Rebecca. On you go. Take care."  
  
With that thought resting on her shoulders, she and her daemon left the hall and followed Genevra into the dark hallway.  
  
Jill tugged on a drawer handle. Its rusted hinges scraped as she threw her weight from it. In her desperation, she looked around the small room she was in- the drawing room, she thought. All she needed was an.*aha!* she thought, and she let go of the gold rimmed handle, walking over to the small table where she had spotted a small knife. Picking it up, she walked over to the huge cabinet and jammed it into a crack in between the rotting wooden case and the drawer. It opened enough for her to fit her hand in, and Jill slid it inside. Her hand closed around a weighty object and she pulled it out. As it emerged from the shadows, she excitedly turned it over and blew the dust off. As the cloud of cobwebs and rubble disappeared, she noticed it was a book, with the initials K.S engraved in peeling goldleaf. She picked up the tiny cell phone strapped to her waist and flipped it open.  
  
"Holly?"  
  
"Holly? What? I'm Jill, you moron!"  
  
"Ah. Sorry. Excuse old Arty. Did you find the book?"  
  
"Yes. I've found a moldy old red book with the initials K.S if that's what you mean."  
  
"That's the one. Report back."  
  
Mulch Diggums, the escaped Dwarf, allowed himself a quiet giggle. "Really, Fowl. Report back?" he grinned. "We're not in Recon, you know."  
  
"Quiet, or I'll have Root kick your stinking behind back to T'athld." Artemis turned from the now sulking Mulch, tapping on the computer screen. He rotated it slightly and frowned.  
  
"Butler. What are those four kids and the bear doing in the guest rooms near the west?"  
  
"I'm not sure, Artemis. But it seems they've been cleared by Cooper, so."  
  
"Hmm. Is Ho-I mean, Jill with you?" Artemis winced. He needed a brainwash. And a good shower whilst he was there. Unfortunately, the showers were out of bounds whilst Sirius and Sanders were examining them for 'possible life forms'.  
  
"No, Sir." Butler brought Artemis back to earth with a thud- he had been imagining a nice massage and Jacuzzi back at his mothers spa. Artemis nodded and sighed, a rush of static filling the bodyguards ears.  
  
"Artemis. Here." A short voice made him jerk around, and a red book was thumped on the table.  
  
"Ahh. Here we go; this is where it begins now." Mulch looked up from his Game Boy, remotely interested now, seeing the flash of gold.  
  
"What is that?" asked Jill, sitting on an uncomfortable chair.  
  
Artemis opened it, sliding it out of its cover and leafing through the stained, yellow pages. "It's a brief history and map of the mansion.now we should have a clear view of where we are and what we should be doing." Artemis squinted, and Daikah the mocking bird cocked her head. She pecked at his black hair and turned to face Jill.  
  
"Why hasn't your Daemon settled yet?" she said, in a soft voice. Jill looked up, startled.  
  
"Uhm..I don't know." Jill pushed her hair behind her ears. "I'm never sure when they're meant too." Saratham pushed his nose under her arm and peered at the pages.  
  
"Hmmm." Daikah fluttered off Artemis' shoulder and prodded a paragraph. Artemis looked at it, and frowned.  
  
"So that's where it came from." he muttered, scratching his head. Then he jerked up and turned so quickly Daikah almost fell off the handle of his chair.  
  
"Butler. Get that old coot up here. We need to ask him some-"  
  
"That old coot is already here, Mr. Fowl." Artemis whirled around to see General Cooper smiling bemusedly. "So you discovered Umbrella?"  
  
"Umbrella?" Jill looked confused. "But.I thought they were discharged last year?" she stood and walked over to the monitor, tapping a button with her index finger. Artemis scowled.  
  
"What?"  
  
"They were responsible for C.R 3 years ago," she snapped, as if it was obvious. Artemis walked over.  
  
"Of course.." Artemis snapped his fingers. "Why didn't I think of it before!"  
  
Sam tentatively put a hand on the door handle, at the request of Iorek. Rebecca gulped and, as Sam stepped back, kicked the crumbling door open. Draco was already fishing out his lock pick and handing it to Iorek, who was studying the door that was directly opposite from the plastered one they had just entered. The bear gave a disbelieving snort and swiped his huge claws on the frame, leaving deep scratch marks. The door clicked and swung open, and the four mortals and their cowering daemons followed.  
  
"Look." Rebecca turned in the direction Draco was pointing and she uttered a small scream. Her owl daemon hooted and gripped her shoulder with her talons. Genevra knelt by the body and softly rolled it over. Iorek growled.  
  
"It's Redfield, guys." Genevra muttered. Sam frowned.  
  
"How? Zombies?"  
  
"Oh, no!" Rebecca leant against the wall and studied the mangled corpse.  
  
"Are you sure it's him?" Draco moved closer and took the badge from Genevra's trembling hands. The four of them jumped when a gnarled tree branch slapped across the small window. The wind whistled even louder inside the now silent room, and dead leaves rustled outside the door. Iorek suddenly leant down and, with a deft swipe of his paw, sliced the dead man open. "What? Iorek?" Draco looked shocked and backed away from the bloody body.  
  
"Bite marks. Everywhere.and his arms have been gnawed clean off. My hunch is there's a zombie lurking close by. Draco, Sam, run back and inform General Cooper, Sirius and Sanders, and come back down here. Take their weapons-" he pointed at Genevra and Rebecca's heavy blasters- "and go, now."  
  
Rebecca shuddered as the two men left hurriedly down the dark corridor.  
  
"Iorek?"  
  
"Hmmm?" the bear was now poking around the Alpha team members insides.  
  
"How did he come here anyway?" Genevra knocked on the walls. "Can zombies pick locks?" She found a hollow part in the peeling, moss covered wall, and Rebecca rattled the handle they had just come through.  
  
"I don't know." Iorek pulled Chris' head at a 90 degree angle and studied his half eaten face with disgust and wonder.  
  
"Look!" Rebecca twisted the handle twice to the left and once to the right. "A simple, frustrated pulling method.ingenious!" her fair face lit up. "No normal person would think to simply twist the handle like this, in the way we usually open a cupboard door if it were jammed." Genevra tried it for herself.  
  
"Perfect. But-" and now Iorek paused from prodding the heart- "How could zombies think of this? Usually they just break down the walls!" she frowned. "You don't think-"  
  
"No. It can't have been planned." Rebecca murmured, though she felt doubt in her throat. "Iorek. Do you have any idea what could have killed it like this? No 'ordinary' zombie, right? Look how well cut and eaten his body is."  
  
"Leech Zombies." A definite male voice sounded from behind. Iorek looked up, sitting on his haunches. "They evolve from the leeches we've seen around here, and they have somehow managed to pollute the remaining life of the zombies and have made them evolve into these." He threw four photographs of hunchbacked black zombies and Rebecca caught one.  
  
"Look at the blades.and their heads are super large...they're more clever!"  
  
"Exactly. According to the book, no matter how much you shoot, they always come after you and back up. My guess is that they were the ones who killed Chris in this way."  
  
"So does that mean they're prowling around as we speak?" Sanders nodded, and showed her two scans.  
  
"We found these in the bathroom, and our guess is that the half evolved centipede creatures need a damp, warm space to evolve." Iorek, though his face showed no emotion, turned back to the dead, now carefully dismembered, body. He rummaged around in the stomach and General Cooper knelt beside him.  
  
"Black. Does this mean anything?" he scooped up a handful of black, quivering jelly with a gloved hand. Sirius murmured something to Sanders, who nodded and spoke back.  
  
"You found that in the bathroom?" Ioreks voice boomed around the small room, even though it was a softer tone. Sanders nodded. "Can I see?" and so, Iorek, Sanders, General Cooper and Sirius headed upstairs to the bathroom. The alpha STARS members followed quickly behind, holding their weapons threateningly.  
  
Artemis flipped open his miniscule cellular phone. He pressed a button and held it to his ear, tapping his feet and thinking how he really should clean his loafers. A black stained coffee mug was sitting opposite him, its contents slurred and strong.  
  
"Yes?" a horsy voice was heard at the other end. *some polite greeting.* thought Artemis, and he gave a small cough.  
  
"Its me, Foaly." There was an amused whicker.  
  
"Ah, Recons favorite mud-boy. And how are we today, Mr. Kidnapper?" the centaur sat back in his modified La-Z-Boy, his tin foil hat jammed on tightly.  
  
"Fine. And you?" he replied tersely.  
  
"Oh, I'm splendid, thanks for asking. So, what is it, Fowl? Come for another request of fairy gold? You father gone missing again?"  
  
"No, quite different this time. We need some background information on the Umbrella Corporation. Human testing organization? I'm sure you guys down at LEP know the sort." Artemis chuckled softly, checking his manicured nails. There was a shuffle and a mutter, then a rush of static filled Artemis' ear.  
  
"Artemis, you moron. What the hell are you doing to Jill?" a strong female voice was yelling down the phone.  
  
"Holly. Charmed, I'm sure." He leant forward. "So, what do you know?"  
  
"Let me talk to Jill. Do it or I'll fly all the way there and punch your IQ out of your head." She slammed her fist on the table and Foaly grinned.  
  
"I'd do as she says, Fowl. I've had that done before and let me tell you, it's not pretty." A nicker and a strange gulping and sucking noise filled the tinny receiver. Artemis guessed Foaly was eating his lunch.  
  
"Fine, fine." He stood up, straightening his immaculately crisp trousers, and handed the phone to Jill, who was checking on the upper dining hall. As she talked to her grandmother, Artemis sighed. He was 19 now. Puberty was nearly past him, but he couldn't help wondering about Holly. Then again, in human terms, she was 50.  
  
"Yes, I'm fine. Don't worry, Grandma. Ok, I'll pass you back. Love you!" Jill threw the phone across the room and Artemis caught it before it went spinning underneath the metal enforced communications center.  
  
"So. Umbrella, Foaly? Anything?" There was a tapping noise, numerous beeps and crunching. Crunching? Ah yes, it was 12:47, after all.  
  
"Hmm..This is interesting. Exactly what are you guys doing on Raccoon Hill?"  
  
"Zombies."  
  
"Ah. Well, I can't see how Umbrella is behind this all, to be honest with you." Foaly frowned. "They were disabled 3 years ago."  
  
"Then how come this book shows that they're still in action?" Foaly's ears pricked up.  
  
"Book? It was probably written ages ago-"  
  
"Then how come it says last weeks date on it?"  
  
*****  
  
Iorek yanked back the plughole and plunged a furry arm inside the narrow pipe. Rebecca was nearly dancing on the spot with worry as the bear rummaged around, his black, pit like eyes furrowed. A noise that sounded like nails being scraped on newly filed iron came from the pipe, then a scrabbling noise which got weaker as Iorek started to pull his hand out. As it reached the dim light in the bathroom it twisted back, its millions of legs wriggling and twisting wildly. Genevra backed up against a wall, terrified. Sirius leaned forward, watching the Bear King's grip slowly crush the mutated insect. It stopped wriggling and Sanders took it from Iorek.  
  
"Right. This'll need testing. Iorek? You wanted to see the black stuff?" Sanders stood heavily from his squatting position, zipping the bag with the insect in it.  
  
"Stuff?" Iorek's voice sounded (if only just a smidgen) amused as he plugged the hole up. "Is there no other name for it?"  
  
"Not yet. Until we find out what it is, we have to call it stuff." Sirius grinned and helped General cooper to his feet as he tried to stand unaided from his huge staff.  
  
"Ohh. I'm getting far too old for this-" he nodded his thanks to Sirius- "Ahh. Right. You four come with me. I'll show you where all the REAL illegal stuff is kept in here." The STARS alphas followed, looking nervous.  
  
Iorek let out a growl. Sanders looked up from where he had been slicing off part of the abdomen from the insect. Iorek then fished out a tiny phone with great difficulty from his belt. As he struggled to flick his claw into the iron enforced phone (he had broken the others even by flicking then with a claw), Sirius grinned and took it from the bear, using both hands to prize open the phone. Iorek nodded and gripped it in his huge paws.  
  
"Iorek.what took you so long?" Butler's voice sounded on the other end.  
  
"Stupid phone was to small. Anyway, what is it?"  
  
"We have a new lead," he flipped the red book with huge hands, "You three should come up immediately."  
  
Iorek nodded. "What are the other five doing?"  
  
"The ALPHA recruits are scouring the top dining hall with." he gave the tiniest fraction of a lip raise, "Sig Saurs." Iorek growled in amusement.  
  
"I'm surprised their little hands can hold them."  
  
Jill opened the doors to the drawing room. Iorek and Sanders walked in with all the tested samples and immediately Artemis started questioning them. Sirius pulled Jill aside and, frowning, sat down on a chair.  
  
"You OK?"  
  
"Yeah. I'm OK, Artemis isn't that bad after all." She said, softly.  
  
"Oooooohhh." He teased, grinning and nudging her.  
  
"Oh, shut up. You know perfectly well what I mean."  
  
Sirius grinned and took a hand, which he noticed was burnt. She withdrew it and smiled.  
  
"I burnt my hand on the plasma screen. You'd think that mud man would at least warn me." Sirius smirked and stood up, his daemon fluttering to the ceiling to join Daikah.  
  
"So, Fowl. What do we have?" he leant over the carefully laid out post mortis which had been apparated by Mulch, who was now flexing his fingers and starting to map out tunnels on the main computer.  
  
"We've found traces of insect matter and larvae growing on the insides of the body." He picked up the severed arm with a gloved hand, grimacing as he took a scalpel and sliced off the infected tissue. His white face mask covered his raised lip as he laid the sample on a slide and slipped it under a gyroscope. Jill handed Sanders and Sirius white coats and masks. They both wrinkled their noses at the smell of the rotting flesh.  
  
"Deal with it. The worst will be when we burn the upper torso," she pointed at the blue dotted line on the milky white, inflamed chest, "and freeze the head and limbs. This baby's gonna be awaking from the dead if we don't freeze it soon."  
  
"So it dies.rots.and the leech grows inside it, takes over its mainframe and controls its body?" Sanders pondered, slipping on gloves to poke inside the mouth. "Ah yes. The leech itself is inside there. This thing is still half alive...we have had to keep it separate from the others." Iorek padded over, a white piece of material bandaged over his muzzle.  
  
"This wont be pretty, guys." The bear plunged his furry arm into the dead mans mouth, and Jill almost gagged as Chris' throat enlarged and Iorek buried deeper. She saw his massive hands clench up, and then the snapping sound of his neck breaking in half from the pressure echoed in the hall. Sirius' eyes almost disappeared under his knotted eyebrows. Jill turned away and clung to his white coat. Sirius put an arm on her shoulder and watched, fascinated yet horrified, as Iorek yanked his sopping arm out, clutching the dead leech in his paw.  
  
"That is so GROSS!!!" she squealed, backing away as Artemis held the huge black insect to the light. He gave a small cough as he laid it on the chrome counter, and Foaly clapped a hoof on his intercom system.  
  
"Ok, Fowl. This may sting a little, but." Artemis blinked back a tear as his blue iris cam rotated and zoomed in. "I think that black matter is the eggs.but you've seen the eggs before, haven't you?" Artemis nodded, and Foaly snorted. "Stop it, you're making me nauseas."  
  
"Jill? Can you come and help me?" Sanders was looking at a diagram of the two leeches and frowning.  
  
"Sure, what is it?" she composed herself and washed her hands at the large sink. Her rubber boots made no sound as she walked over to the table where he was sitting hunched over the dusty red book. She sat on the counter and looked at the stained pages. Sanders pointed at the two grotesque diagrams with his index, and Jill furrowed her brow.  
  
"Male and Female. We've only found the female so far, but maybe the male is the strongest?" Suddenly, there was a clatter and the sound of claws on the floor and Artemis started yelling frantically into his receiver.  
  
"REBECCA, COOPER, SAM, GENEVRA, DRACO! STAY WHERE YOU ARE, DON'T MOVE!" Butler followed the charging Iorek out the blasted double doors and they plunged into the dining hall. Sirius looked white and Jill ran over, looking at the stairs. Three leech zombies were making their way up the stairs to the dining halls top level, where the 5 STARS alpha team was stranded. Foaly cut himself off. All this panic was making him hungry, and there was a slice of carrot cake with his name on it waiting in the fridge.  
  
******  
  
Rebecca froze on the spot. Artemis' tinny voice almost broke the static in her ear, and she grabbed Draco's thin arm.  
  
"Oh my god.what should we do?" she pulled Genevra closer to her for comfort and the older girl put an arm around her. Artemis was yelling instructions down the small headset and Sam had taken out his Sig Saur, loading it painfully. Artemis paused to catch his breath and continued.  
  
"Lock both doors. Go two at a time, NEVER leave each other. You guys are going to have to stay in there for a little while. We have Butler working on the south door-" there was a ripping noise and a bright beam of light was pumped, the shadows covering their feet- "Iorek is on north." There was a tremendous roar and two thumps, then a slashing noise sounded. Rebecca whimpered and edged towards the door, clutching Draco's arm. He slid the bolts back and shoved it into place, then they rushed back to General Cooper, who was leaning on his stick, Fawkes resting at his feet. He was speaking intently to Artemis and his usually jovial face was replaced by a grim look.  
  
"Guys. Looks like we have to stay here for the night."  
  
"WHAT???" Rebecca sank to the floor. Draco laid a hand on her shoulder and she buried her head in her arms.  
  
"The others are stuck in the control room." Genevra mumbled. Artemis let out a sigh and almost deafened her. "Only Iorek and Butler are outside." Artemis suddenly yelled,  
  
"GET BACK!!" the 5 members huddled together and Iorek crashed through the door, covered in black blood. He gave a fierce growl and General Cooper, Genevra and Sam clambered onto his broad back.  
  
"Stay there. I'll come back for you in two second." The bear lumbered surprisingly fast into the controls room, swiping a regular zombie on the way.  
  
"Oh, God.I hate my job." Draco enveloped her in his arms comfortingly and Rebecca closed her eyes.  
  
"GET ON! THIS IS NO TIME FOR ROMANCE!!!!!" screamed Artemis, banging on the panel. His panic was so strong that they broke apart and ran towards the door, where Iorek was bulldozing up the stairs. Across his snowy white stomach and muzzle there was blood and a huge gash ran from his left paw to his stomach. Still, he never stumbled, and the floor shook with the combined weight of Butler, who was running from the scene to the stairs. He sprinted up them two at a time and grabbed Rebecca by the arms, swinging her onto his back. *never leave the principal alone* he thought, and his worry of Artemis made him quicken his pace.  
  
As soon as they reached the doors, Sirius pulled the two off and slammed the doors, not just a second in time. 5 or 6 zombies, male, were pummeling at the door, using their huge clawed arms to rip through the rotting wall panels. Iorek shoved a huge metal welder across the door and Artemis' pale face was lit up by the steady greenish hue of the plasma screens. Thunder sounded from the huge, 10 ft tall windows. The moon shone spookily across the dilapidated lawns and Sirius gave Iorek two bars of Honeydukes Chocolatl to numb the pain of the ointment that was being tenderly applied to his open wound.  
  
"I suggest you make yourselves comfortable- We'll be here for a day, if not more. We seem to have woken up the dead."  
  
*****  
  
Saratham clung to Jill's chest, his monkey claws digging into her hair. She sat under a blanket with a very grumpy looking Artemis, who had been sent to bed by Butler. Daikah was flitting around the room, pecking snappily at anyone who got in her way. Jill frowned as Artemis fell into a stupor, his head drooping back on the small shelf. Soon enough, the 19 year olds snores were heard from everyone, and Jill rolled her eyes. She drew the blanket over his shoulders and Daikah flew onto his shoulder, then nestled in his pocket. As Saratham fell asleep, Jill took out the tiny diary and started to write, keeping half an ear on the adult's conversation. Sirius was sitting next to her, fingering his badge absent mindedly. Rebecca and co. were fast asleep on the floor, their eyes twitching in REM sleep. Sirius frowned and whispered,  
  
"How come we aren't allowed to join them?" Rebecca frowned, closing the book.  
  
"This sucks. We have a right to know, don't we." But half of her was fearful of Iorek and the adults, so she didn't object. Sirius sighed and closed his eyes.  
  
"Goodnight." the clock on the main hall chimed 13 times, and Jill looked at her LCD watch. *1:24 am.I'd better hurry up.* Jill took out the diary again and continued, sleep itching at her eyes.  
  
Today we encountered Leech Zombies. Great. I'm as worried as I ever have been, and I find myself dreading the next 6 days in this place. If this happens so early on, I don't know what I'll do. I'm so tired, and we're all trapped in one room. I'm going to keep half an eye open, just in case something bad happens. 


	5. Day 5

DAY 5  
  
Sirius awoke with a start. A gentle but steady pounding sounded on the portrait wall. He stumbled to his feet, almost tripping over Jill's outstretched body. Feeling around for a light switch, he shivered.  
  
"Jill.Jill, wake up!" he muttered, turning on a faint torch light.  
  
"Sirius.its 4 am!" Jill propped herself up onto her shoulders, squinting in the gray light of the morning. Rain splattered miserably on the huge windows, and tree branches whipped across the glass, creating strange patterns on the molding floor.  
  
"SHH!-" he held a finger to his lips and gestured towards the cracking painting with his left hand- "Can you hear that?" the thudding got a little louder every second thump.  
  
"Wha.what is it?" CRACK! The wall splintered, and a huge crack appeared. Jill stumbled backwards and shook Iorek awake. The huge bear lunged to his feet and stood over Jill.  
  
CRASH! Half the wallpaper gave way, revealing ancient, rotting wood. A quiet thudding still resumed, though now there was less urgency in it. Iorek growled.  
  
"STAND BACK. WAKE UP BUT-" He shook an almighty paw  
  
"I'm here." Butler hoisted the Sig Saur up onto his massive shoulder. "Shall I?"  
  
Iorek nodded. They knew better than to have them both go. But even so, "Sirius, Ginevra, go with Butler" Their Daemons woke and followed after them.  
  
A spark came from the mainframe. Artemis snapped awake. His fingers traced over a TS pad and he frantically tried to re-boot it, his black hair spiking up at the front with the numerous hand combs. "Damnit.NO!" The screen flushed blue and went out with a snap. Jill ran over to the boy, who was now kneeling under the circuit boards.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Look over by the wall.see if you can find a transformer." he mumbled, not leaning back to check a button, his strong jaw line clenched with concentration.  
  
Rebecca walked over and checked along the wall. *all fine.* she looked again. "Artemis!"  
  
Butler frowned. The camera he was waving at in the hall didn't work. Sirius tried phoning. Nothing. Just static.  
  
"Er.guys?" Genevra touched a picture. Her fingers ran over some soft of code, most probably Braille. Sirius came over and felt the painting. His eyes lit up. *how clever.*  
  
"Check the others.don't go to far though." Blancha was a dog, scouring the corridors with her keen nose.  
  
"So yes, we have no communications, lighting or power. At least, not in this room."  
  
"Isn't there another room in this bloody mansion that has computers?" Sanders glared at the plasma screen and Artemis. The boy genius was sitting at a chair, his fingers laced, his eyebrows creased. Jill silenced the scientist with a look.  
  
Dumbledore was tracing over the dilapidated wall. He knocked in 8 different places. The same 3 always came up hollow. "Draco, Sam, look-" he pointed at the wall, "get those two hammers and tap here." They obeyed and started to tap away at the crumbling wall. In no time at all a dank smell lifted through the hole in the wall- moss creeped up the corridor that was lit by a soft torch Sanders had.  
  
"AAARGH!" Two strong, scissored hands cut two throats, and an arm swiped the shuddering bodies into the tiny hole with a strange sucking noise. Jill screamed, grabbing Artemis' arm, when he had backed into her, his frame stiff with fright. Blood dripped. There was a shocked silence. Drip. Drip. Drip.  
  
Butlers head snapped up from the painting he was feeling. His soldiers sense was drumming a tattoo in his skull. Suddenly,  
  
"GET BACK!" He blasted the wall, and the deformed monster that had been crawling out of a hole in the ceiling shrieked and withered. White pus fell from the wound. The 3 STARS agents gathered up all the paintings they had found, and sped towards the large computer room. Drip. Drip. Drip. The sound echoed throughout the whole mansion. The maggots smelled their peers hurt. Their faceless forms wriggled. Their slimy skin rubbed against each other, like wet rubber. Rot and mould stuck to their slimy outer cases like sand in an oyster. But sand in an oyster almost always makes up a pearl. And that was just what the queen wanted.  
  
"So.Braille?" Artemis smiled his vampire smile. Butler frowned. How could he be smiling? He would never understand his principals thoughts. Butler smiled to himself, a rare show of ease. Maybe it would be better if he didn't.  
  
Jill held the sobbing frame of Rebecca, who was nearly on the floor with grief. Sirius looked on in confusion, and was told the whole story by a paler than usual Sanders. Dumbledore tried calling HQ on his phone, but there was no signal Artemis traced his fingers again over the paintings. He still felt the rises, and pulled out his bump-mapping handheld. He scanned two paintings to bring up the Braille. After studying it closely for two hours, blanking out the pandemonium around him, Jill came over and smacked the back of his head. Artemis almost fell off the rickety old chair in surprise, and landed face first onto the table.  
  
"OW! What the hell did you do that for?!" he screamed at her, rubbing the back of his head furiously.  
  
"Need any help, Mud Boy?" Jill threw him a lopsided grin and Artemis sighed. He could use her help; she was good at deciphering codes. He gritted his teeth and stood up.  
  
"I could indeed use your help, Ms Valentine." He winced. It sounded so cheesy. Jill looked at him curiously. She took the seat Artemis offered her, and poked at the paintings and pile of notes, then gave a little laugh.  
  
"Arty, Arty. Tsk tsk. Why use paltry mortal ways of code cracking when you have a fairy on your side?" she dropped her voice a decibel. It sounded like the mesmer. Artemis frowned. "I have something that can help you in my room. But we cant get there, unless." she thought for a second, her pale forehead crinkling slightly.  
  
"Shielding, perhaps?" Artemis enquired, feeling a little stung at Jill's remark about his code skills. It was hardly average, after all.  
  
"No, we couldn't use that. Think! If we get caught, the little amount of magic that I posses will disappear and I wont have any left for healing. I'm half Mud, Arty. I can't afford to risk something as stupid as a de- coder when I'm depended on for wounds!" She looked at the paintings again, tracing her fingers over them like Artemis. She snapped her fingers.  
  
"I've got it!"  
  
Sanders slowly collected the dripping pus from the dead monster that lay in the cavernous hallway. He frowned. The boarded up passage was new.the wood should have rotted from the damp and moss should have covered the floor, but the wood looked manufactured, plastic. He poked at the creature. Something hard hit the end of the scalpel. He frowned, shuffling slowly closer. A spark shivered up the slimy skin. Sanders almost fell back in surprise. He turned around and rummaged in his bag frantically. Sirius made his way over to the doctor.  
  
"Find anything interesting?"  
  
"Oh yeah. Check it out!" Sanders snapped on tough gloves and pulled out the huge life form. Several vomiting noises came from behind and Sirius gagged slightly as a sucking noise came from the floor, followed by strings of saliva like liquid.  
  
"What are you doing?" enquired Dumbledore, Fawkes resting sleepily on his shoulder.  
  
"I've just noticed something.look!" Sanders manipulated a scalpel to reveal a complicated AI circuit board. Sirius gasped.  
  
"A robot! But- this means that." He glanced at Sanders, who pushed his glasses up a bit and nodded ever so slightly.  
  
"This was put here on purpose."  
  
"Shh.come on!" Jill grabbed Artemis arm and crept along the sideboards of the stairs. Rain still lashed violently at the windows, and the shadows from the stairwell cast creepy fingers like patterns scuttling on the walls. They held their breath and edged towards Jill's room. Something groaned. Artemis threw out his arm and silenced Jill with a finger to his lips.  
  
"Is it just me or is that coming from upstairs?" he whispered, once again resuming to tiptoe towards Jill's room.  
  
"I think it is.we're almost there, lets go. I have a feeling that this Braille code is very important." She closed her hand around the doorknob and twisted it silently. It squeaked loudly. Jill winced, and the pair of them hurried inside.  
  
"Where is it?" Artemis stood by the door, ready to shoot if anything came close. Jill grabbed a device from her bedside table. Whilst she was there, she also grabbed other things from a drawer. After closing it silently, they pocketed the device in a box and Artemis put it inside his jacket pocket. Jill cast a quick look around the deserted room, and Artemis suddenly caught glance at a painting.  
  
"Jill! Look!" he hissed, pointing at the painting. Jill's eyes widened. She remembered that picture. On her first day.it struck something familiar to her. Artemis crept over to it and unfastened it, noticing the bumps of Braille on it. Something clicked.  
  
"Er. Artemis?" Jill pointed at the hole where the painting had been partly removed. Something wriggled and screeched deafeningly.  
  
"Well, THAT'S not good."  
  
Artemis and Jill tumbled into the room, breathing heavily and clutching at their Daemons fur. They collapsed on their research table and tried to act normally, though their hearts thudded so fast. Everyone else was milling around, wondering many things:  
  
a) What that noise was,  
  
b) Who would want to kill them, and  
  
c) When were they going to eat?  
  
However, Iorek strode over to them, his snout quivering with anger. Jill and Artemis cowered slightly, their pale faces flushing slightly when Iorek's glare passed over them.  
  
"Explain. Tell me the whole truth, and I will tell no-one." He demanded, crossing his huge paws over his chest. Jill looked at Artemis, who looked at her, then glanced at Iorek with a gulp. He opened his mouth, and the words tumbled out.  
  
".and then we ran back up here.we thought no one knew we were gone!" Artemis cried, holding up his hands. Butler glared at Jill.  
  
"You really thought we wouldn't notice if our principals were gone?" he asked, a smile playing on his lips. Jill's eyes became downcast. She looked quickly at Iorek. Her fists were clenched on her lap.  
  
"You TOLD him, Iorek?" she said, through gritted teeth. The huge bears glare faltered slightly. "I thought I told you not to." She got up and strode towards the small bathroom, and slammed the door behind her. Butler frowned.  
  
"You weren't meant to." Iorek shook his shaggy head. "Oh."  
  
Artemis looked inquisitively at the two huge bodyguards. "Foaly sent you, hmm?" he said, standing too. Butler gave him half a look and he shut his mouth, smiling sheepishly, instead choosing to go over to the bathroom where Jill had locked herself.  
  
"Why do I always have to be babied, Saratham? Its just not fair!" she hiccoughed, holding his snowy owl form in her arms as she huddled on the marble floor.  
  
"He's doing it for a reason, Jill. You know that. Even if he thought you could handle it by yourself, Trouble would still have insisted that Iorek go." the owl reasoned, putting his beak into her hair. There was a soft knock at the door. Jill looked up.  
  
"Go away!" Artemis sighed. Pixies. So emotional. Daikah gently prodded at the door and the lock opened. Artemis poked his head around the corner. Jill opened her mouth as if to complain then closed it. A tear ran down the young STARS members face. Daikah hopped off Artemis' shoulder and went to confront Saratham. Artemis knelt next to Jill, who looked down at her hands. He frowned at her.  
  
"Its not easy, is it?" he said softly. Jill looked at him. "I've lived my entire life with Butler. Since I was born. He's been my only friend for 21 years. The only one I could actually trust. At school, I used to feel alone without him. I thought that once my father came back, things would be different. But he drifted away slowly. He returned to his old self. And my mother was no different. But Butler was always there. He always did what I told him. Always listened. But there are times when I wish I could truly be on my own."  
  
"Arent you scared?" asked Jill, looking at the boy. "Of being alone."  
  
"How can you be scared of something you've never experienced?"  
  
"I.I wouldn't know." She dropped her gaze again. Artemis lifted up her chin with a hand. She brushed away her tears and returned the glare.  
  
"Holly.you look so much like her.her attitude." he half smiled. "I can see the resemblance. You look a lot like your mother, Jill." She gave him a sarcastic smile.  
  
"I hope you don't mean that I look old, Mud Boy." She mumbled, and Artemis took his hand away and brushed her hair away from her face. His cold blue eyes melted ever so slightly.  
  
"Whats wrong with Trouble wanting to keep you safe? He's your uncle, he's the only one that you have had contact with regularly through Haven, right?" he said, softly. Jill frowned.  
  
"Yeah, but.I wish I could contact Holly more. She's never around. She raised me alone, when my father ran away. Bit of a shock for him when he realized what Holly was," she said, a small grin on her face, "So I'm more fairy than Mud. But still." she sighed and shrugged.  
  
"Don't you find any comfort in being protected, Jill?" She nodded slightly.  
  
"I do. But I hate people knowing it." She gave a small growl. "I cant believe Iorek told Butler! I specifically asked him not to." There was a strange noise outside and they heard something heavy slam on the floor. "What the..?" Jill sprang up and took out a pistol, Artemis clambering up clumsily. She threw open the door and saw Sirius lying on the floor.  
  
"SIRIUS?!" Jill screamed and ran over, tears filling up her eyes. She was about to reach him when a deafening screech filled up the tiny room. Artemis gasped.  
  
"JILL! TO YOUR LEFT!" he ran over and knocked her out of the way as a huge maggot almost clamped its huge, leech like mouth full of sharp teeth over her body. A large white mass of fur charged it and brought it, squirming, to its death on the floor. As it lay convulsing on the tiles, Iorek looked at Sirius' lifeless form in the evening dusk. Artemis joined him, after helping Jill up, and leading her trembling body over.  
  
Jill knelt down beside her injured friend and looked at him beneath creased brows.  
  
"Where are the others?" Sirius groaned.  
  
"They left.Dumbledore was supposed to stay but."  
  
"I stayed outside, I was guarding the halls and I heard Sirius yell." Iorek dropped something at Jill's feet. She closed her hand around it without looking and absently handed it to Artemis to read.  
  
"Antidote?" Artemis looked at Iorek, "you think this will this work?"  
  
"Should do. From the look of his wounds, I'm not sure if it'll last." Jill moaned and helped Sirius to sit up, hugging him. Sirius gently put an arm around her as she held him closely.  
  
Artemis turned away. He knew that what Iorek meant when he said he wasn't sure it would last. He had known death. He knew when it was coming.  
  
Iorek frowned. "You should sleep. I'll be OK; I'm going to wait for the others to come back. I just don't understand why they left you here, apparently alone."  
  
Jill nodded and sat down, her eyes drifting slightly as she felt Sirius' head gently land on her lap, using it as a pillow. She almost fell over; a sudden tiredness had taken over her like no other. She pulled out her journal and began to write.  
  
I cant believe it. I know Sirius is going to die. His daemon is weak. I just don't know how to handle it at all. I'm unnaturally tired but I want to  
  
Artemis caught Jill gently as she fell onto his shoulder and, withount reading the text, closed the red book and put a blanket over her shoulders. 


End file.
